Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Food
Elephants Poop Out World's Most Expensive Coffee
By
Nell Casey
Published Aug 21, 2014
Modified Aug 21, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Nell Casey
Published Aug 21, 2014
Modified Aug 21, 2014
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Step aside cat crap coffee and take a hike panda poo tea, because the world's most precious cup of joe is now coming out of an elephant's ass. Over in Thailand, a Canadian entrepreneur named Blake Dinkin thinks he's found the number two one best method for producing coffee, and it involves letting Arabica beans ferment inside an elephant's intestinal system. NPR bravely investigates the brew, which goes for $70 a serving. Their conclusion: not crap!
The so-called Black Ivory Coffee makes its way through the beast's digestive system for several days before passing more or less whole out the other end. According to Dinkin, elephants are well-suited to this task because they're herbivores, which means their GI tracts act like living fermentation tanks. According to Dinkin, the process brings out the natural sugar and takes away the bitterness. And the resulting brew? "The aroma is floral and chocolate; the taste is chocolate malt with a bit of cherry; there's no bitterness; and it's very soft, like tea." Mmm, soft. "So it's kind of like a cross between coffee and tea."
The elephants get off easy, really; the director of the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation, John Roberts, says it's safe enough for the animals so long as they don't go through any caffeine withdrawal symptoms which, as we all know, can be severe. Really it's the souls tasked with squeezing tons of giant elephant turds to find the precious beans who we feel for. They probably aren't seeing much from that high price tag, either.
You'll probably have to travel to Asia or the Middle East to taste the stuff, where it's being sold in five-star hotels and the like. However, there's one small store in Comfort, Texas called The Elephant Story that's also selling the brew; profits there go directly elephant conservation, a most un-shitty cause indeed.
[via Consumerist]
Tagged
coffee
elephant poop
elephant poop coffee
elephants
Nell Casey
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE food
10 dishes that demonstrate the delicious diversity of curry in New York City
The global dish is shapeshifting and ubiquitous.
By
Robert Sietsema
Published Sep 12, 2026
Frozen yogurt is back in New York City. So are the super long lines.
Is it worth the high price and ridiculous wait? Gothamist needed to find out.
By
Sonia Rao
Food
Frozen yogurt is back in New York City. So are the super long lines.
Is it worth the high price and ridiculous wait? Gothamist needed to find out.
By
Sonia Rao
5 NYC banana puddings as good as Magnolia's
By
Hannah Frishberg
Where to eat in Greenpoint, Brooklyn right now, from Polish to Sichuan to Iberian
By
Robert Sietsema
Can a congressional candidate's dumpling diplomacy win over Queens’ immigrant communities?
By
Caroline Shin
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .